In our famously controversial series, we interrogate IT Pros in order to find out what makes them tick. In this episode, we dug ruthlessly into the life of dbeato, aka "Daniel."

Here is what we got out of him:

What brought you to Spiceworks?

It started back in 2010 when I was looking for an Inventory tool that will give me information about my customers' networks. Used the application and other tools for almost 6 years and then after a job change I found myself answering questions in the Spiceworks Community.

What keeps you here?

The people and the camaraderie of the SpiceHeads all over. Yes, we have some differences but we can at least discuss it civilly. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t here for helping fellow IT Pros and striving to give the Best Answer.

What is your favorite aspect of the site?

The Feed and Unanswered questions sections.

What got you into the IT field?

Data Entry for a Pharmaceutical company in the Dominican Republic and tinkering with my friend on our parents' desktops.

What has been your favorite part of the industry?

Constant change and innovation. Always looking to do things faster and more efficiently.

What do you do now?

I am a Director of Technology for a Service Provider and MSP.

How did you learn your job?

[Redacted: This response is incomprehensible because of extraneous noise like struggling and electrical shocks and the like.]

What sort of challenges do you face in maintaining your infrastructure?

Budget and down time, even when we strive to have open source technologies we don’t always have the money so we are stuck on updating and patching. As for the down time, this is something we are working on with our customers so they know there are maintenance windows to maintain their devices in the cloud and locally.

What new technologies are you implementing or looking at? Why?

Migrating all our old customers Sonicwalls to Sophos XG Firewalls. The price and what is included on the Sophos surpasses the Sonicwall device by a lot.

What recent projects have you wrapped up? What did you learn from them?

Setting up AD RADIUS configuration to all the switches, firewalls and network devices across the network. Not all switches support admin login through RADIUS and preparation is key. Always have good documentation and backups.

Do you have any other story from the IT trenches that you would like to share?

Not at this time... [Redacted some extraneous electrical noise and indications of pain here.]

What advice do you have for people entering the IT field today?

Be open to change, take every opportunity you get, and make the best of it. If you see something wrong, say it, but also accept criticism with a good attitude (not always easy), and accept your responsibilities. If we never fail we will never learn.

Do you have any other advice or a message for your fellow SpiceHeads?

Continue to answer questions and discussions as best as you can. Give them the best answer you can give and think as if it is helping you as well (You will be surprised by the amount of times I find my answers in Google searches). Also don’t listen to meoware by dimforest.

What color is your toothbrush?

Blue

Creamy or crunchy peanut butter?

Creamy always!

What is your favorite color?

Red

What are your favorite hobbies?

Playing Sports (Baseball, Soccer, Volleyball).

Why did the chicken cross the road?

[Redacted (at the request of the chicken)]

What is your favorite movie or book?

Best movie ever Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen. Book “The Circle Trilogy 1-3” by Tedd Dekker.

What is your favorite fictional universe, and why?

Either Isaac Asimov’s Universe or Star Wars

Who asks you for IT assistance the most outside of work?

My Dad and my wife.

If you were a superhero (or supervillain) what would your super power be?

To not get hurt by anything people said, did, or shot at me.

Do you listen to music while you work or do you prefer silence? If you do, then what Genre keeps you going?

Yes, I listen to music a lot. I listen to various genres, so I am not locked into it, but Rock, Pop, and Techno are my preferred ones.

What was your first computer equipment?

Being a child of the 90s, the first computer I used was when I was 5 years old and it was a Pentium S with 133 Mhz processor and Windows 95.

What kind of personal computer equipment do you use?

I use a Dell Latitude E7280, with 16 GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD.

What was Florida Man doing on a significant date in your life (Birthday, Anniversary, etc)?

Florida man claimed to be surrounded by cats and alligators before being arrested for murder.

What is your favorite food or meal?

Spaghetti with Meatballs or Lasagna Bolognese.

What spicy User Groups do you participate in?

Too many to count. Discord, including SpiceBuddies and Spiceworks, and I participate on at least 600 groups in the community.

If IT was Thanos-snapped and you had to choose a different career path, what would it be?

Civil Engineer or Landscaper.

Do you prefer coffee or tea or something else?

Coffee but I'd rather have hot chocolate any day. My wife however has made me appreciate tea more though.

What is a guilty pleasure that no one would suspect about you?

Listening and dancing to Dominican Bachata.

How do you usually dress for work?

T-shirt, Dress pants or jeans, shoes or sneakers.

Do you do any volunteer work? If so, where do you volunteer and what do you do?

I volunteer for various non-profit organizations in their aspect of technology including churches, pregnancy resource centers, and coding centers.

Who/what is your favorite video game character?

Best video game character is Captain Falcon.

Do you even lift, bro? What do you do to keep yourself physically fit?

I do lift but that is not my main goal. I try to run at least 3 miles every 2 days. Right now I can’t lift as I broke my left wrist.

[Note: Accidents when struggling with handcuffs are obviously preventable by simply not struggling.]

How do you wind down after a hard day's work?

Get home to spend time with the kids and wife, if they are in bed and my wife is out I run in the treadmill and then I play either Urban Terror, Apex Legends or N64 games. Then is time to read a hardcover physical book and occasionally a drink.

What's something non-techy you do that gets a "Wow, I could never do that" response from most people?

I work with car engines and general car fixes. I also play baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, and others.

_____And there you have it. The mostly-complete transcript of the interrogation. Feel free to ask additional questions in the comments below.

Tune in next time as we delve into the psyche of another subject.... or, if you think you can stand the heat, you can volunteer for your own interrogation. Write to news@spiceworks.com with the subject line "IT Interrogation" (or alternatively "Willing Victim").

You also forgot to mention that one time when you [redacted] and then those users were [redacted] because [redacted].

Actually, Dim, he did tell that story, and I redacted it, because there is no way in [redacted] that I am going to let [redacted] and encourage [redacted], because [redacted]. As you know, that way lies madness.

You also forgot to mention that one time when you [redacted] and then those users were [redacted] because [redacted].

Actually, Dim, he did tell that story, and I redacted it, because there is no way in [redacted] that I am going to let [redacted] and encourage [redacted], because [redacted]. As you know, that way lies madness.

I think the people need to know about [redacted] though because it would prevent [redacted] and [redacted]. As [redacted] always said, "[redacted]."

I think the people need to know about [redacted] though because it would prevent [redacted] and [redacted]. As [redacted] always said, "[redacted]."

I think you are [redacted]. People already know about [redacted] and it doesn't prevent [redacted] or [redacted], or even [redacted]. Maybe they are [redacted] than you think. ... Plus, [redacted] is an [redacted]. If you are going to quote someone, try [redacted] who wisely said "[redacted]."

I think the people need to know about [redacted] though because it would prevent [redacted] and [redacted]. As [redacted] always said, "[redacted]."

I think you are [redacted]. People already know about [redacted] and it doesn't prevent [redacted] or [redacted], or even [redacted]. Maybe they are [redacted] than you think. ... Plus, [redacted] is an [redacted]. If you are going to quote someone, try [redacted] who said "[redacted]."

Hmmm, I feel like you're [redacted] me with the mention of [redacted]. And as you remember, [redacted] wasn't the one who said "[redacted]," that was definitely [redacted] when they went to Spiceworks HQ and you [redacted] them until [redacted]. THIS [redacted] IS A PRISON!

Hmmm, I feel like you're [redacted] me with the mention of [redacted]. And as you remember, [redacted] wasn't the one who said "[redacted]," that was definitely [redacted] when they went to Spiceworks HQ and you [redacted] them until [redacted]. THIS [redacted] IS A PRISON!

I am indeed. And I'm afraid that you are [redacted] and you are confusing [redacted] with
[redacted]. It was actually clearly [redacted]. As for [redacted], that actually wasn't Spiceworks HQ. It was an old warehouse nearby where we [redacted]. Also, it was fully their choice to participate in [redacted], and I have a signed waiver stating that. If you don't like [redacted], then you don't have to [redacted], but it seems clear that [redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted], [redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted], and [redacted] all disagree with you, because they willingly signed away their [redacted] in order to participate in the [redacted].

(By the way, [redacted] is [redacted] that we are talking about this in [redeacted]. Time to move to a more [redacted] channel.)

Hmmm, I feel like you're [redacted] me with the mention of [redacted]. And as you remember, [redacted] wasn't the one who said "[redacted]," that was definitely [redacted] when they went to Spiceworks HQ and you [redacted] them until [redacted]. THIS [redacted] IS A PRISON!

I am indeed. And I'm afraid that you are [redacted] and you are confusing [redacted] with
[redacted]. It was actually clearly [redacted]. As for [redacted], that actually wasn't Spiceworks HQ. It was an old warehouse nearby where we [redacted]. Also, it was fully their choice to participate in [redacted], and I have a signed waiver stating that. If you don't like [redacted], then you don't have to [redacted], but it seems clear that [redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted], [redacted],
[redacted],
[redacted], and [redacted] all disagree with you, because they willingly signed away their [redacted] in order to participate in the [redacted].

(By the way, [redacted] is [redacted] that we are talking about this in [redeacted]. Time to move to a more [redacted] channel.)

I've been playing Urban Terror for probably 15 years, though not often lately since the community has grown much smaller. Surprised to find a Spicehead that plays. Are there any servers you frequent? Would love to (try to) headshot you sometime!